ENGLISHWay before than steel, iron and in general terms, metal parts, were indispensable for the automotive industry, somehow replicating the human history itself, the wood was the most important, popular and affordable raw material for the construction of vehicles... Most of the visible components in the first cars, were made of wood; body and chassis were benefited by the versatility and singular features of this highly available and renewable element...

Today, a master in woodworking, cabinetmaker or carpenter, is a sort of museum piece, an anodyne character from a remote time, the owner of an obsolete and supposedly useless art; but there was a time when these masters had a starring role in the automobile world, as well as in other branches of art.

We are talking about an era of craftsmanship, when technology was an expensive commodity, while the qualified manpower was, in comparison, very cheap (sounds really weird nowadays, when it seems to be the other way around)...

The old tumbrils, which were the origin of the modern utilitarian vehicles, needed an equivalent for similar duties, in the incipient cities of the first decades of the last century.

Those "motorized tumbrils", in the form of coupe utility or as station wagons, were multitask vehicles, used to transport goods, people or both and looking at them, you can feel their countryside taste.

The line of production of the largest car makers in United States was not prepared to build those station wagons, at least not at a reasonable price for the end consumer; hence, this kind of vehicles was partly factory made and partly made by custom body builders (a practice in force to date, for other utilitarian vehicles).

The costs of building a station wagon, specially the passengers compartment, completely in metal, were simply impractical; but there was a potential market for them and that’s the reason why the Woodies were born.

The 30s and 40s marked the apogee of these particular means of transportation, when they were actually made of wood and despite their kinda "rustic" appearance, the Woodies were offered as an option only for the Deluxe trim level so, don’t be fooled, these were luxurious vehicles.

For this publication, I chose an archetypal sample of this uncommon class of automobiles: the 1940 Ford Deluxe Woodie Station Wagon and I must add that in fact, Ford was the only car maker to offer Woodie bodies as a regular catalog item, since they had their own lumber mill, opened in Iron Mountain, Michigan, in 1929.

The Woodie vehicles were mainly developed in United States and it’s extremely rare to find examples from other countries, specially made with real wood structure, but it doesn’t mean that you will see millions of Woodies out there, NO !!!...

These models are very scarce nowadays, most of them are in the hands of collectors and either they were restored or carefully preserved in original condition, their prices easily are above US$100,000 per unit...

Further information about these beauties in future publications, in case you casually were interested =PPPPP...

Patiently, I was looking for each one of the items published this time, it took me around 2 years to put them together; two friends, fellow collectors and importers helped me in the mission and I’m pleased with this selection.

It’s indisputably a quite popular cast, designed by the emeritus Larry Wood and featured for the first time in the Hi-Rakers Series, in 1980.

The model has been released at least 48 times for regular and adult lines, including variations; five times until now, a pair of surf boards with their respective holders were added on top and as a curiosity, only the first 80’s Hi-Raker model, had smooth side panels, a variation of that very year and the following re-editions, have woodgrain texture.

All of them have diecast chassis, with very basic details and part of the body was made also in diecast (including the hood, front and rear fenders and running boards), but the passengers compartment is plastic, regardless the version and the woodgrain texture as well as the framework are very prolix.

The first sample belongs to the Surf N’ Fun Series, part of the regular lines; the paint job was made in purple with Metalflake finishing and is complemented by tampos/decals on the front fenders and the roof, featuring flowers, flames, a Hot Wheels logo (on the roof) and a NorthShore text, in white, black, with fluorescent yellow and orange (crazy for others, suitable for me); the passengers compartment is beige, also the plastic insert for the blown engine and the front grille is chrome; the interiors are black, the windows are tinted in blue, it has plastic wheels with 5 Spoke rims design and it was made in Malaysia.

The second sample belongs to the Cop Rods (The Ultimate Police Cruisers!) Series, an adult line with a bigger and thicker card, which has a high relief to highlight part of the background illustration; the paint job in black and white is perfect for a patrol, it has also tampos/decals on the front fenders, the head lights, the hood, the roof and the rear side panels, with abstract patterns, the texts "El Segundo Police", the number 24, simulated patrol lights and a Hot Wheels logo, in white, black, silver, red and blue; the passengers compartment is white, the plastic insert for the blown engine and the front grille is chrome; the interiors are black, the windows are tinted in blue, it has Real Riders multipart wheels with Deep Dish rims design in chrome, styled rubber tires and it was made in Malaysia.

The third sample belongs to the Wild Wave Series, part of the mainline; the paint job was made in black with glossy finishing and is complemented by tampos/decals on the roof (featuring a beach landscape, with a tropical flower in the middle of the sun, palms and flames around) and the rear side windows (featuring a flashy combination of Wild Waves and Hot Wheels logos), in white, black, silver, yellow and dark red; the passengers compartment is blue, the plastic insert for the blown engine and the front grille is chrome; the interiors are yellow, the windows are tinted in blue, it has plastic wheels with 5 Spoke rims design and it was made in Malaysia.

The final sample belongs to the Crank Itz Series, part of the regular lines; the paint job was made in medium blue with Metalflake finishing, the tampos were made on the three-dimensional framework and on the front right door (a Hot Wheels badge), additionally was included a big and flamboyant decal on the roof, featuring a mad surfer/guitar player and the "Surf Beat!" text, in white, black, polychrome blue and orange; the passengers compartment is light beige, while the plastic insert for the blown engine and the front grille is silver; the interiors are light beige, the windows are smoked, it has plastic wheels with Saw Blade rims design and it was made in Thailand...

Mar 1:12-17 "And immediately the Spirit driveth Him into the wilderness. And HE was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto Him. Now after that John was put in prison, JESUS came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of GOD, and saying: the time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of GOD is at hand: repent ye, and believe the Gospel. Now as HE walked by the sea of Galilee, HE saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And JESUS said unto them: come ye after ME, and I will make you to become fishers of men."

4 comments:

Hmmm... The first car has that Ronald Mac Donald color scheme. Hot Wheel didn't seem to bring the realism and woodie feel from these diecast. The spare tyre were not painted black and the car look awkward in Police concept. Sorry to say, I'm a bit disappointed on this batch :(

well... i must confess that when i chose these diecast, i had not in mind faithfulness with the actual car (albeit you can still recognize the ’40 Ford Woodie there), i just wanted to own some Woodies, just because i find them quite appealing, their uniqueness is precisely their combination of something artisanal and something industrial...

on the other hand, you should consider the fact that this is an old cast (from 1980) and its accuracy is limited, but such "imperfection" is a feature you learn to appreciate as time goes, it’s the "vintage charm"... also, the color of the spare tire at the rear, depends on the color of the interiors (which are not always black =/)... yet, if you happen to see carefully the model, you will notice the nice details on the "wood" panels (thanks to their plastic construction, in diecast would be almost impossible to get the same texture) and those outlandish decorations are lovely for me... in the end, you know, is always a matter of tastes and obviously, i wanted them in my collection !!!... =D

Yeah.. Understand the sentiments that when we like a particular model, any form by any manufacturers would be fine irregardless the faithfulness of the product. I forgotten to give credit and consideration of the year of production and that my bad ^_^

don’t worry bro !!!... indeed, i used to be very picky with accuracy and realism, that’s usual in an adult collector, but then i recalled the old models i had in my infancy... at that time, there were not available brands like: Johnny Lightning, Kyosho, Minichamps, Tomica Limited Vintage/Neo and others, (hardly Matchbox and Hot Wheels), but i loved those models and played a lot with them... the models featured in this publication, reminded me the old good times and that’s why i decided to add them to my collection, apart from the relevance of the vehicles represented... =D

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